Drilling moratorium extended

LONGMONT, Colo. (AP) - Boulder County has extended a moratorium on new oil and gas development in unincorporated parts of the county.

The Longmont Times Call reports that county commissioners voted Tuesday evening to approve a temporary emergency moratorium on the drilling through Jan. 31. The extension gives county staff time to study the latest draft version of oil and gas development regulation updates.

The commissioners want to have the updated regulations in place before they start accepting applications for drilling oil and gas wells.

They were originally planning to consider adopting a new set of oil and gas regulations Thursday morning but decided to give their staff more time to look at the changes suggested during a public hearing.